A Monster
by jewelledhunter
Summary: Hama leaves the Gang a memory of a woman who tricked them into believing she was good. In this oneshot, this is what I wished Hama was like: a woman forced to choose between good and the ultimate survival of the Water Tribe.


AN: I found Hama to be a deeply intriguing character and I hated how she was immediately labeled evil. I believe tons of people like her are sprinkled throughout history and just to label her as evil is to miss out on a serious character-development moment. Maybe I'm overthinking this, but this is how I wish it went. I'm sorry if the beginning dialogue is not exactly as the show went. I've expanded Hama's story.

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Katara took a deep breath and it was almost as if she could smell the intoxicating power the moon lent her. She could feel her energy rising like high tide and as she closed her eyes, every particle of water felt close to her. She could feel even the water flowing through Hama's veins. Hama's back was to her and to Katara, it seemed that Hama was feeling the same as Katara: the great power of the full moon.

On the night of the full moon back home, she had always gone out and practiced, for the entire night. She had learned so much during that time…

"You feel its power, don't you?" Hama asked quietly. Katara knew that Hama already knew the answer. "This is our opportunity, every month, for our greatest power. During this time, water has the highest chance of being the greatest element of them all."

Hama was silent for a few seconds. She raised her hand and a ball of water materialized in her hand. Around her feet, grass wilted, turning black. She relaxed her hand and the water fell to the ground, sparkling in the moonlight. "Such little tasks become instinct and require no strength. Already you are a powerful Waterbender. No one can deny that. What I am about to teach you…I am probably its only master."

Katara could not imagine what secrets Hama had to teach her. What could be so powerful?

"When I was imprisoned within the Fire Nation dungeons, they tied our hands, our feet…we could not even think of bending. The air had no water. They gave us water in bowls. Even," a mere ghost of a smile flickered across Hama's face, "we could not use the chamber pots without full supervision. And every month, the full moon fell upon me and I had to bite my lip not to cry out in frustration. I had to get out. My family and my friends were all succumbing to the torture, especially the girl next to me. Amadahy. Her despair was the greatest and we were all sure that she would die first."

"Soon, nearly everyone but Amadahy had been moved to another part of the dungeon. Doubtless they feared that we would try to band together. The day before Amadahy was to be moved, she was found on the floor of the prison. Dead. But it was not from starvation or thirst. Blood was spattered all over her face, her robes."

Katara swallowed and she tried to breath regularly. Hama turned slightly and Katara could see a young girl, haunted by such torture.

"Nobody had killed her. It was suicide. Nobody knew why. Until I found out about the water in all animals' blood. I bended the blood within rats. They were puppets under my submission; they did all I commanded. And I knew, knew what Amadahy had discovered…she had turned her craft against herself. Despite the terrible knowledge of what this new art could do, I practiced. And practiced. Soon, I did it against the guards and they unlocked my cage against their will, because of my Waterbending. I escaped."

"You," Katara felt realization crashing around her, "you, you are the one who has been kidnapping all those people!"

"They insulted the other nations, Katara," Hama said through gritted teeth. "They called them names that I dare not utter. You would have done the same! Katara, you must learn this. We must use every advantage we have. I do not do this out of—"

"You want me to learn this?" Katara felt herself trembling. This woman! She supposed so much, that Katara would be willing to use this terrible weapon. She would not dare use it. She would not even allow the woman to even show her.

"I'm only doing this for the survival of our race!" Hama's voice was a barely controlled whisper. "I saw your friend, the Avatar, and perhaps you have gotten used to it, but I can see his sorrow all over his face! He is the only one left. Do you want the Water Tribe to go the same way as the Airbenders did? No, you don't."

"I will not," Katara said firmly. Hama's face was inscrutable. "I cannot do it against anyone."

A moment of silence. The wind blew and the leaves around them rustled. Leaves rose and blew around Hama, making her an oddly impressing figure against the full moon.

"I'm sorry," and then Hama was bending, but Katara felt her arms twisting. She screamed, but Hama was already going through motions that Katara recognized. The first form of Waterbending, but instead of water, Katara felt her arms and body follow Hama's hands. She had no control. It was awful; never had she felt so powerless and the pain coursing through her body forced tears to her eyes.

"Please!" Katara begged. Hama seemed not able to look at Katara.

"Only if you desire to learn, Katara. For the Water Tribe's sake."

Katara closed her eyes and felt Yue's presence. _Up, Katara_. She trembled for a few seconds and slowly, as if it were a poison sucked out of her, the terrible hands that gripped her body vanished.

Her tears and the water from the plants rose to her hands and she bended it toward Hama. Hama sent it back as a wall of water, but Katara felt the water hit her hand and bounce back, like a wave in the ocean.

"I have a chance," she thought. But then she heard footsteps and saw Hama turning towards the two arrivals. Sokka and Aang.

"We know what you've done—" Aang's words were cut off with a yelp as he and Sokka became stiff. Sokka's hand went to his short knife.

"Katara! Out of my way! It's like my arms have my own brain, spirits—" Katara diverted Sokka and Aang soon followed Sokka, waving his arms wildly. It would have been comical if Aang hadn't been holding a knife in his hand.

"I'm so sorry, Aang!" she called as she pushed Aang towards a tree and bound him there.

"It's all right," and Katara felt instantly better. Aang, Sokka, and Toph would despise her if she had agreed to learn Bloodbending. Nothing Hama said mattered—

Sokka and Aang were both bound to trees, but with a sickening crack, the ice binding them broke and they sailed towards each other, Sokka's small knife outstretched. Both of them were screaming—

"No!" Katara screamed and she pulled the water down in Hama's body. Hama became rigid, occasionally grunting. Sokka and Aang fell to the ground, panting.

She could not bear to look at them. She had done Bloodbending. Perhaps it was to save Sokka and Aang, but she had done such evil. And it was to a fellow Waterbender…She gently lowered her hands and Hama sank to her knees. Footsteps. Toph and Hama's prisoners were running up the path.

Katara did not hear what was going on afterwards. She did not look at Hama as her former prisoner bound her hands.

As they led Hama away, Hama said, "My work is done," and her tone was quietly triumphant. "You are a Bloodbender now, Katara. Use it well!" and with a small, sad laugh, Hama was led away from Katara, who sank to her knees, sobbing.

She was despicable. Absolutely despicable. And no matter what the low voices around her said, she was a monster.

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AN: I hope you liked it, and I hope I conveyed some of the sympathy I felt for Hama. I know the action scenes weren't written well, but I felt they were more...like a filler part. I've read so much about people in history who had knowledge of power that was possibly not ethical, but could save so many. Even though I don't agree with Bloodbending (it's a little too far in my opinion), I think Hama was a representative of those people and to be labeled evil was condemning those people. Just had to get rid of the plot bunny. 


End file.
